Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Picture Book Classes Start Soon

This semester I'm teaching two classes in the University of Toronto's Continuing Studies department.

"Writing for Children: Picture Books" begins on Wed. Oct. 6 12:30-2:00 p.m. In the course I talk about the fundamental structure of picture books and other essential elements. Each week there is an assignment, all of which go towards producing drafts of two manuscripts. There's always a lot of good energy and enthusiasm in the class and we all enjoy it.

"Writing for Children: Picture Books II" begins on Monday Oct. 4 6:30-9:00 p.m. While it has no prerequisite, the course is intended for people who have taken previous writing courses. (If you really want to take it anyway, you can email me.) There are no set talks or assignments. Instead, the class is devoted to detailed workshopping of manuscripts brought in by participants. As well, we are having two guests. One is a picture-book illustrator who will talk about what makes a good manuscript from the illustrator's point of view. The other is an editor at a major children's publishing house who will give us the inside scoop on how manuscripts are accepted and what editors look for.

Here is the website for the school:http://learn.utoronto.ca/site3.aspx